Phyllis Kind opened her gallery in Chicago in 1967, initially exhibiting master prints and drawings. At that time a group of young artists was emerging in Chicago who, beginning with the "Hairy Who", were making personal, complex, narrative statements at a time when critical attention in New York addressed itself, for the most part, to "mainstream art" (including "minimalism", "color-field", "pop", and impersonal art). It was this very exciting, ground-breaking phenomenon in Chicago that prompted Ms. Kind to become involved with living artists. By 1970, she had established a stable of artists there, some of whom later became known as the Chicago Imagists. In addition to those artists, for the first few years her midwest gallery also supplemented its exhibitions with consigned shows of artists of national reputation from galleries on both the East and West coasts.

By the time Phyllis Kind opened her gallery in New York in 1975, her stable had become finely honed and had also expanded to include artists from throughout the United States. These artists, along with the Chicago stable, were to some extent out of step with the prevailing attitudes in New York. A number of them have since gained international reputations.

Early in her career, Ms. Kind developed an interest in contemporary "outsiders" or artists without formal training. Her gallery was the first to promote such work within the context of contemporary "high" or "serious" art and she continues to promote such work not only, as she says, "to keep us honest," but even more importantly, because it has defined the way she perceives the phenomenon of art, and art-making as a process.

In February 1986 Ms. Kind visited the Soviet Union and saw the work of a number of unofficial artists including many who were making two sets of work--one as members of the state-controlled Artists Union and one which could never be exhibited in public. This led to the gallery's first show of Soviet art in May 1987: "Direct from Moscow!". Since then, the gallery has had several group and solo exhibitions of work by major contemporary Soviet artists.

From its inception and throughout these more than 30 years, the Phyllis Kind Gallery has continually searched for work that is unique and as transformational as possible, with well-crafted and personal elements. It continues to promote artists, schooled or unschooled, who have developed a personally consistent vocabulary of form that is both complex and wide-ranging. Phyllis Kind does not promote any particular "style" nor does she even think of art that way. She believes in the primary individuality of human creativity which is never without reference to its time.

Phyllis Kind Gallery is a member of Art Dealers Association of America.

Phyllis Kind Gallery
236 West 26th Street, Suite 503
New York, New York 10001-6736

Summer Gallery Hours:
11AM to 6PM, Tuesday thru Friday
Open by appointment only during August

1 (212) 925-1200 (Tel)
1 (212) 941-7841 (Fax)

For information regarding sales:
please contact Gallery Director Ronald L. Jagger.